Internal-combustion-engine attachment



R. L. SKINNER.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8| I919.

Patentefi May 9, 1922.

M amen RALPH L. SKINNEE, 0F SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.

ALCOMBUSTION-E'NGHIE ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 8, 1919. Serial No. 343,276.

To all whom it may con/0cm:

Be it known that I, RALPH L. SKINNEB, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Sacramento, in the county of Sacramento and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Internal-Combustion-Engine Attachments, of which the following is a specification.

In the present day types of internal combustion engines employing an oil tight and air tight crank case and particularly those having a relatively long stroke, small bore and designed for high speed purposes, such as are generally employed in automobile construction, ithas been found that an excessive amount of the lubricant carried within the crank case creeps by the pistons, even when perfectly fitting piston rings are employed, thus finding its way into the firing chamber of the engine only to be burned by the ex ploded or ignited fuel and expelled into the atmosphere through the medium of the escaping exhaust gases.

By experiment I have found that the movement of the excessive amount of lubricant from the crank case into the firing chambers, it passing by the pistons in its movement, is due primarily to the creation of a partial vacuum within the firing chamber immediately subsequent to the beginning of the intake stroke of the piston. When the pressure within the cylinder is thus reduced below that of atmospheric the greater pressure within the crank case, which pressure is that of atmospheric, tends to and does force an excessive amount of lubricant by the piston into the firing chamber.

The primary object of the invention is [0 provide a means whereby the atmospheric pressure within the crank case may be maintained at all times substantially equal to the pressure within the firing chamber to prevent an excessive amount of lubricant from being forced by the pistons into the firing chamber during the operation of the engine.

A further object of the invention is to pro ride in a device of the above mentioned character a means whereby the communication between the firing chamber and crank case may be instantaneously severed and established respectively upona sudden rise or decrease of, pressure within the manifold of the en ine.

ther objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description takeninconnection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, forming a part of this specification and wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an internal combustion engine showing the device embodying my invention attached thereto, and,

Fig. 2 isa view showing in section certain valves employed as elements of the invention.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred form of my invention, the numeral 5 indicates. as a whole an internal combustion engine having an oil tight and air tight crank case 6 and an intake manifold 7. The device embodying my invention is adapted to be installed upon or attached to the internal combustion engine as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 and comprises a pipe 8 connected to and communicating with the crank 6. The pipe 8 is provided at its upper end with a coupling 9 having one end reduced as shown at 10 and provided with an' opening 11 within which a ball valve 12 is adapted to seat. To the coupling 9 there is secured a nipple 13 carrying a spring 14 adapted to firmly retain the ball valve 12 normally seated within the opening 11. To the nipple 13 there is connected a pipe 15 which in turn is connected to and communicates with the intake manifold 7. To the coupling 9 there is connected a pipe 16 to which is secured a valve casing 17 carrying a three-way valve 18 provided with a relatively large opening 19 and a relatively small opening 20, the relatively small opening being adapted to communicate or register with a port 21 provided within the casing 17. To the casing 17 there is connected a pipe 22 which in turn is secured to a suction pump indicated as a whole by the numeral 23, which pump is connected with the timing-gears or any other suitable rotative elements of the engine by means of a chain or other driving elements as shown at 23. By means of a lever 24 connected to a link 25 which is suitably secured to the valve 18 the valve may be moved to the position shown in Fig. 2 whereby communication between the pipe 22 and the atmosphere is established through the passage 20 and the port 21 or as is apparent, the valve may be moved through 90 to sever the communication between pipe 22 and the atmosphere and establish communication of Patented May 9, 1922..

follows: Assuming that the engine is running a partial vacuum is created within the manifold 7 as a result of the passage of the fuel mixture into the cylinders on the intake stroke of the pistons. As a result of the reduction in pressure within the manifold 7, which reduction in pressure corresponds to the pressure within the firing chamber of a given cylinder immediately prior to the opening of the corresponding intake valve on the intake stroke a suction is created within pipe 15 tending to lift valve 12 from its seat. A suction is also set up within pipe 16, assuming that communication is established between pipes 16 and 22 as a result of the operation of the suction pump 23; If the suction created by the suction pump 23 is greater than the suction set up within the pipe 16 the valve 12 will remain seated and the pressure within the crank case 6 will be reduced to a tension less than the pressure within the manifold 7 and likewise less than the pressure within the firing chamber on the intake stroke. If the suction within the pipe 15 should exceed the suction within pipe 16 as a result of an increased suction within the manifold 7 the valve 12 will be lifted against the influence of spring 14 whereupon suction within pipe 8 will be correspondingly increased to insure the maintaining of a pressure within the crank case 6 not exceeding the pressure within the intake manifold 7. If, for any reason, a sudden building up of pressure within the intake manifold 7 were to occur as a result of for example what is commonly known as back fire within the manifold 7 the valve 12 will, through the Y influence of such increased pressure and the influence of the spring 14. close to prevent the back fire from being communicated to the crankcase. If it should be desired to discontinue the suction within pipe 16 the valve 18 may be moved to the position shown in Fig. 2 whereupon communication between the pipe 16 and the pump 23 is severed, the pump 23 being, when the valve 18 is in such a position, in communi' cation with the atmosphere through the port 21. Tl hen communication between the pipe 16 and pump 23 is thus severed the pressure within the crank case 6 is maintained equal or substantially equal to the pressure within the manifold 7 as a result of the suction set up within pipe 15 alone.

Tt is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of. parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of tho subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, what it claim as new and desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States 1s:

1. The combination with an internal combustion engine having an intake manifold and an air -tight crank-case, of a pipe connecting the intake manifold with the crankcase whereby excessive pressure within the crank-case is removed, a valve within said pipe to prevent the return of pressure to said crank-case from said manifold, and a pump cooperating with said pipe for further facilitating the removal of excessive pressure from said crank-case.

2. The combination with an internal combustion engine having an intake manifold and an air-tight crank-case, of a pipe connecting the intake manifold with the crankcase whereby excessive pressure within the crank-case is removed, a valve within said pipe to prevent the return of pressure to said crank-case from said manifold, a pump cooperating with said pipe for further facilitating the removal of excessive pressure from said crank-case, and means operatively connecting the pump with the engine.

3. The combinationwith an internal combustion engine having an intake manifold and an air-tight crank-case, of a pipe connecting the intake manifold with the crankcase whereby excessive pressure within the crank-case is removed, a valve within said pipe to prevent the return of pressure to said crank-case from said manifold, a pump cooperating with said pipe for further facilitating the removal of excessive pressure from said crank-case, means operatively connecting the pump with the engine, and means for severing connection between said pipe and said pump.

at. The comb'nation with an internal combustion engine including a crank case, of a conduit communicating with the intake manifold of the engine and the crank case. a valve in the conduit and normally unseated during the intake strokes of the pistons, and a source of vacuum communicating with the conduit below the valve and normally exhausting the air from the crank case to reduce the pressure in the latter to the approximate pressure in the firing chambers during the intake stroke of the pie tons.

RALPH L. SKTNNER. 

